Mavericks Set to Start NSIC Action

3/31/2011 10:29:05 AM

What's Lies Ahead: #8 Minnesota State (23-4, 0-0 NSIC) kicks off its Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference schedule on Saturday with a doubleheader against Minnesota Duluth in Mankato, Minn., at 1 p.m. The Mavericks then take on Bemidji State Sunday at the Diamond at Gage Towers as first pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.

In the Ranks: The Mavericks are ranked #1 in the first NCAA Central Region poll released Wednesday. MSU is followed by WSU and Augustana, while seven of the ten teams in the regional poll are NSIC schools. In the National Fastpitch Coaches Association poll, Minnesota State climbed from 15th to eighth in the country this week.

Up Until Now: Minnesota State enters the weekend with a 23-4 record and is coming off a sweep last Thursday against Concodia University. The Mavericks beat CU 5-2 and 7-0 at the Vadnais Sports Center. MSU is enjoying its best start in program history

Honors, Accolades and More: Five different Mavericks have earned weekly honor awards this season, including most recently NSIC Player of the Week Julie O'Neal and NSIC Pitcher of the Week Kendra #Huettl#.
   To earn her Player of the Week Award, O'Neal went 5-for-5 with five runs batted in. In the two games, O' Neal marked a 1.600 slugging percentage. The senior is batting .389 from the plate with 24 runs batted in on the season.
   In her first Pitcher of the Week award on the season, pitched a dominating 7-0 complete game performance against Concordia last Thursday. Of the 25 at bats in the game two of the doubleheader, Huettl struck out 15 Golden Bear batters.

Nationally Speaking: In the nation, MSU ranks 20th in batting average (.339), 12th in fielding percentage (.973) and 18th in stolen bases per game (2.22)
   Senior pitcher Courtney McKelvogue. is currently 14th in the nation in ERA (1.03), 12th in hits allowed per seven innings (4.05) and 37th in strikeouts (98). Freshman Kelly Wood sits 41st in the nation in batting average (.446), while freshman teammate, Lindsay Erickson, sits tied with Wood in batting average (.446) for 41st in the nation. Erickson also is 21st in the nation in doubles averaging .41 per game. The speedsters Lauren Morris and Melanie Upchurch sit tied with one another 23rd in the nation in stolen bases per game (0.7). Upchurch is tied in 27th in the nation in triples (3).

Lead Me: MSU freshmen Kelly Wood and Linsday Erickson hold a team-leading .466 batting average. Erickson is leading the team in extra base hits (15) and total bases (59). Senior Natalie Spicer is leading the Mavericks with 28 runs batted in, while hitting .384. Spicer is also leading the team in home runs (6), on base percentage (.500) and walks (18). Fellow senior Julie O'Neal is batting .389 this season, compiling a .478 slugging percentage.
   Sophomore pitcher McKelvogue gathers a 12-2 record on the season, including a 1.03 earned run average. McKelvogue has given up just 11 extra base hits in her 81.1 innings pitched, with batters hitting just .162 against her. Junior pitcher Kendra Huettl is10-2 on the season with a 2.96 earned run average.

What Lies Ahead: Minnesota State will host Wayne State in a doubleheader on Tuesday at The Diamond at Gage Towers. First pitch is slated for 2 p.m.

For complete weekly notes, stats and regional rankings, click HERE.

For live stats during this weekend, click HERE.

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